Chasing Dusiens
by evilkatz
Summary: Lyle tells Setsuna of a childhood dream. Written for the Mechaphiles Holiday Fic Exchange and winner of the Mod's Choice award.


Title: _Chasing Dusiens_

Author: evilkat

Rating: PG

Original request:

_Character/Pairing: Lyle/Setsuna_

_Prompt/Scenario: Where Lyle tells Setsuna his childhood dream._

_Squicks: non-con, marina ismail._

_Maximum Rating: R_

Author's notes: One small caveat for this drabble. Rather than having Lyle telling Setsuna his childhood dream in the "what I want to be when I grow up" sense, he tells him about a dream he had when he was a child.

_Dusiens_- In Gaulish mythology, they are demons that produce nightmares.

* * *

_Chasing Dusiens _

Lyle Dylandy watched the other Meister gracefully leap along the catwalk from his vantage point in Cherudim's open cockpit. When the other man came to a stop in front of his Gundam, Lyle couldn't help the smile that curled his lips. It was mildly amusing that they would both seek comfort from fifty-seven metric tons of world-altering destruction.

"Can't sleep either?" he called down to the other.

Startled at the sudden voice in the empty hanger bay, Setsuna whirled around to pinpoint the source.

Lyle swung himself out of the cockpit and pushed off Cherudim in one fluid motion, allowing the partial gravity to gently pull him over to the catwalk.

"You're unexpected. No one is usually in here during this shift," the younger pilot responded. His voice was flat. His statement wasn't an explanation, yet there was a slight ripple of annoyance in his tone that Lyle suspected amounted to surprise.

Perhaps if he prodded, just a little, he could get the enigmatic young man to open up. Maybe…

"So, what brings the great Setsuna F. Seiei down here in the middle of your designated rest cycle?" he said jovially as to not come across as prying.

Setsuna didn't even miss a beat. "Most likely the same reason as you…bad dreams." And with that, he turned towards his Gundam.

The fake smile melted off Lyle's face. Damn, that kid was eerily perceptive at times. "Yeah? So what did you dream about that rattled your cage enough to go wandering?" It came out snippier than he intended, but it didn't seem to faze the other Meister at all.

"Failure," Setsuna replied breathlessly, head upturned, eyes still locked on the 00 Gundam.

It didn't take quantum mechanics to know what that machine represented to the young man. The Gundam was salvation. Lyle had been around long enough to recognize someone who had been raised on scorched earth and war, mostly likely tempered in battle from the moment he was old enough to hold a weapon. It was disheartening. Children should know only love and laughter. He had been happy once…until that day.

And there it was; the ache in his chest that burned at the memories. Nearly two decades later, the pain was still so acute. Lyle rubbed his hand over his chest as if that could somehow make the hurting stop. It was a reaction that he was unaware of until he looked up at Setsuna's puzzled expression.

Lyle gave a nervous laugh. He wasn't sure why he suddenly decided to speak, but the words flowed easily, as if he had been waiting for this moment to unload them. "I had a dream tonight," he began softly. "It was a dream I haven't had since I was a kid. Neil was running away from something and I was begging him not to go. But even though I'm crying, inside my head I'm telling him to leave…to stop lingering. I couldn't wait for him to be gone."

He looked over and briefly met the other Meister's softened expression. Setsuna cocked his head to the side and Lyle took as a sign to continue. "I've always envied my brother. I was never as good at…things as he was. I guess I figured that if he was gone, my problems would be too. Then, after the bombing, he was the one that pulled me out from under the rubble. I had never been so happy to see him." Lyle paused to swallow the lump in his throat. "When he started talking about revenge, I wanted nothing to do with him. God, I haven't had that dream in so long, it—"

"You are not your brother," Setsuna interrupted, his brown eyes flashing with intensity. "We all have our different reasons for fighting and paths that lead us here. But know this, Lyle Dylandy, your brother and your family will be avenged."

Lyle was taken aback by the fierce determination in the other's eyes, but at the same time he couldn't help but believe the absolute certainty in Setsuna's voice. Maybe it was time to stop living in Neil's shadow and honor the brother who, no matter what, fought for what he believed in.

-End-


End file.
